Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes

11TH CENTURY A.D.

2 in. (19.88 grams, 50 mm).

Williams's Class A Type 1 with trapezoidal plaque and narrow ledge to the rear; incised geometric design following the outline of the mount with symmetrical panels; to the neck five vertical lines, perhaps pseudo-runes. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Property of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.

Literature

Cf. Williams, D., Late Saxon Stirrup-Strap Mounts, York, 1997, item 51, for type.

Footnotes

The markings on the neck appear to conform to the shapes of four runes, being inverted chevrons to the edges (runic 'U'), a character of two verticals and a sloping cross-bar (runic 'H'), and a simple vertical stroke (runic 'I'). However, the outer chevrons are formed as the junction of the inner border with a vertical while the cross-bar appears to be a later abrasion. The form of 'H' with a single cross-bar is very early (2nd -5th century AD) and is almost unknown in England, while by the 8th century this form had been replaced in Scandinavia by a rune formed as a vertical with a small saltire to the centre (like an asterisk). It is nevertheless possible that these marks were intended as a form of pseudo-runic text.

CONDITION

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LOT 1641